Gold is one of the most attractive forms of investment, resonating with current economical practicalities as well as age-old traditions of many cultures. Inflation, depreciating currencies due to various economic factors and global uncertainties usually makes gold as a safe-haven asset. However, the true values lies beneath the surface with accurate and reliable XRF (X-ray fluorescence) testing ensuring that the true value of a piece is uncovered thanks to comprehensive precious metals analysis.
The rise in gold and silver prices
Many factors affect the price of gold apart from the economic cycle, one being simply the demand for gold. One of the biggest global demands for gold comes from India due to the massive requirement for jewellery and the auspiciousness around it. Be it a birth of a baby, wedding or any festival – the first purchase is always gold or silver depending on budget. Impending festival season means the gold prices might continue to rise for few more months.
In these ambiguous times with soaring gold prices, while investors might be buying more gold bullions, coins, bars or ingots, individual customers tend to buy only what they need, causing a dip in regular customers at gold shops. However, on the other hand pawn shops are experiencing an uptick in gold valuables redemption with gold piece owners commanding the price for gold in return for cash. These transactions have increased the number of fake gold scams all over the world with recent ill-famed examples in Malaysia, China and Thailand where millions of dollars have been lost.
The real value of jewellery and gold bullion is largely determined by precious metal’s elemental composition. Using XRF makes precious metals testing easy and quick. Accurate and non-destructive, XRF precious metal analyzers ensure fair price without the need to use chemical assay, fire assay or alternative testing methods for analysis.
Hitachi’s XRF analyzers for precious metals make determining gold (Au), silver (Ag), platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) content fast and easy. They can also verify rarer precious metals such as osmium (Os). As well as determining precise composition, the instruments also measure plating thickness, such as gold coatings on copper alloys and rhodium coatings on gold alloys. With a minute measurement area and high accuracy, checking the composition, the exact karat weight, plating and integrity of each piece is simple.
As part of our Hitachi gold spectrometer product range, you can choose between two non-destructive XRF analyzers. The benchtop X-Strata920 microspot XRF analyzer or the lightweight and convenient handheld X-MET8000 ‘XRF gun’, depending on the verification process.
The X-Strata920 XRF gold testing machine is ideal for hallmarking centers, gold refineries, smelters and test labs. It’s a high-precision instrument that will accommodate a wide range of pieces, with the ability to measure small individual features on pieces, such as links, clasps, settings and mounts. The ability to choose between several collimator, chamber and base configurations makes the X-Strata an extremely versatile instrument that delivers accurate results for the tiniest of features.
